“I could never have imagined that at 17 I would witness a full-scale war, that at 19 I would begin documenting it, and that every year I would hear about the deaths of people I once knew and photographed,” photographer Marlia Taran tells. At just 22 years old, the young woman has seen more than most people will see in a lifetime.

According to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights report from February 2026, since the Russian invasion began in February of 2022, more than 15,000 civilians have been killed, and more than 41,000 have been injured. The UNHCR reported as of 2025, around 3.7 million people have been internally displaced in Ukraine, and another 5.7 million have sought refuge outside of the country. A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank, estimates that Ukraine has seen between 500,000 and 600,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.

The Aviation Day with the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade Donetsk region, Ukraine, July 2025 © Mariya Taran

Marlia Taran’s husband serves as a press officer in the 28th Mechanized Brigade, and she began photographing the war while visiting him on the front. But rather than documenting combat, her work focuses on quiet, human moments. Her photographs are included with that of 5 other women photographers who have been covering the war in the new book Through Her Eyes. But there is something else that binds the photographers together outside of their photographs: all 6 have joined Ukraine’s armed forces, and along with their work as photographers, they also serve on the front as volunteers, medics, or soldiers.

**“**I wanted to show women and their role in this war, because it is so often overlooked. There are around 70,000 women who have officially joined the Ukrainian Army,” says Olga Sunden, the book’s publisher and the head of Communication and Partnerships at the American Ukraine Committee. “But beyond the numbers, women see war differently. They notice details that men often don’t, the small human moments, the texture of daily life under fire, the quiet between the violence. Their gaze is different. Their photographs are different. That is not a weakness or a softness, it is a different kind of truth, and it is one the world needs to see.”

The others whose work are included in the book are Nastia Verbova, 28, who along with photography serves with the 108th Battalion “Da Vinci Wolves” and works embedded with her unit. Veronika Mushtay, 42, works as a rescue worker and covers the medics, evacuations, POV rallies and her work is known for her approach to photographing the wounded and deceased. Kseniia Tomchyk, 32, helps with the work of evacuating civilians with her camera in hand. Lisa Bukreyeva, 32 as well, covers combat on the front lines. And Daria Svertilova, 29, covers the war’s impact on civilian lives.

“In 2022 I joined an NGO that was evacuating people from the frontline, and I became a witness to countless stories of human tragedy,” says Tomchyk. “I was helping people to leave the frontline region, and at some point I started to document it, too. It felt natural to do so. Many journalists were searching for this kind of stories, and I just had them due to the work I was doing.”

Stabilisation point Donetsk region, Ukraine, spring 2025 © Veronika Mushtay

Hennadii, call sign “Khmuryi,” 52, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces soldier, at a rehabilitation center Staten Island, New York, USA, 2024 © Iva Sidash

For Mushtay, who began documenting the Russian invasion in 2022, the idea of covering the war more deeply came not on the front lines, but rather at a rally in support of prisoners of war. That was the moment she found the courage to fully immerse herself in documenting the war.

“For me, it was important to document what was happening because these are historical events. I did not want to remain just a witness – I wanted to document everything I could reach for the history and archive of the war,” Mushtay explains. “Photography became a way for me to preserve the memory of people and events that could otherwise be forgotten.”

The dual roles the women play as both photographers and members of the armed forces adds a complex layer to both their work and their lives in the field. Keeping the two roles in their respective places in your mind is one thing that needs to be dealt with. One must have the ability to separate your roles depending on what is going on around you, while still always being constantly prepared to slip into whichever one is needed at a moment’s notice.

“I once had to stop massive bleeding. When I saw the wounded person, it didn’t cross my mind to document it by taking a photo,” Tomchyk details. “First, I ran to apply a tourniquet because I had the training. You just do what needs to be done, you prioritize and make decisions based on what’s most urgent. But my camera was always hanging on my chest, and whenever I could, I took the photos.”

Work and everyday life of medics of the 4th Separate Medical Battalion at a stabilization point. This is the first place a wounded service member is taken to after evacuation. Kharkiv region, Ukraine, 2024–2025 © Lisa Bukreeva

For Taran, there is no separating her two roles, as for her living in Ukraine means constantly living and working within a state of war. Especially, she says, when both her husband and father are both in the military, her hometown of Kherson is constantly under attack, and Odessa where she lives, is frequently under bombardment from drones.

All of the stress of their roles has also taken a toll on the photographers’ mental and physical health and feeling the pressure from what they do and the burnout that results. But they also cannot just leave to get away from the fighting and the stress and the worry. It would be very hard to even find a place within the borders of Ukraine where you can escape the fighting too. And it does not appear that any of them have any intention of leaving.

“I just accepted that this is the reality, and to navigate it successfully, or with less damage to my mental health, it is important to accept it first. Not normalize but admit that it happens and you have to adapt,” Tomchyk explains. “But there is a price, and it is a high one. I feel burnout from time to time because living like this is exhausting. I also think I will only truly understand what I went through, what I saw and what I did, sometime later, with the perspective of time. For now, I think it is more useful to do what you can in the circumstances you have.”

Through Her Eyes is published by the American Ukraine Committee and available for $100.

Olia, a 21-year-old combat medic at the time, was wounded when an enemy FPV drone struck the evacuation crew she was serving with while rescuing injured comrades. Novoselidove, Donetsk region, Ukraine, 2024 © Nastia Verbova

When Ukrainian Women Soldiers Document their War